


aeipathy

by mcswoonfor_mcdoon



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Chaos, Dark!Nico, Dark!Percy, Death, Idiots in Love, LGBT, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Multi, Slow Burn, bi!Annabeth, bi!Percy, but not really also sooo, but not really???, feral!nico, ghost!percy jackson, im not good at slow burn but, lowkey doe - Freeform, mlm, more tags will be added as we go along, nicos pov, the gods are mad (again)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:48:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24449125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcswoonfor_mcdoon/pseuds/mcswoonfor_mcdoon
Summary: “O love, whose lordly handHas bridled my desires,And raised my hunger and my thirstTo dignity and pride,Let not the strong in me and the constantEat the bread or drink the wineThat tempt my weaker self.Let me rather starve,And let my heart parch with thirst,And let me die and perish,Ere I stretch my handTo a cup you did not fill,Or a bowl you did not bless.”- Kahlil Gibran***Percy Jackson has been dead for three weeks.So what the hell is he doing at the end of Nico's bed?***
Relationships: (Past) Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Background Relationships:, Frank Zhang/Hazel Levesque, Percy Jackson/Nico di Angelo, Piper McLean/Jason Grace/Annabeth Chase
Comments: 26
Kudos: 123





	1. The Fields of Mourning

**Author's Note:**

> i had this idea stuck in my head and couldn’t get rid of it. i don’t know how many chapters long it will be; I’m hoping at least 10. anyways, any TWs and new news will be posted right here in the future. enjoy the story :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the fields of mourning is where people (mostly women) who lived lives with unrequited love went after they died. thought that that seemed fitting...

“For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.”

-Kahlil Gibran

***

He died on a quest. 

He was with Jason and another half-blood, Nico couldn't be bothered to learn their name, and they were on their way to where a satyr had found a new demigod, a child of Hermes, and then a monster had surprised them, and he died. 

Not even a really heroic death, if you compare it to his other near-death experiences. 

Annabeth started sobbing as soon as the news was delivered. Jason had told them, eyes red-rimmed and glossy behind his glasses, saying "He didn't make it. Not this time," after Annabeth's smile had slid off her face and she'd asked where he was. 

Hazel had choked out a gasp, and Frank had slapped a hand across his face. They hugged. Leo had frowned, and Piper had teared up. They hugged. Jason led a screaming Annabeth to her cabin. Nico stood there, jaw clenched, hands tightened into fists. He didn't think. Didn't speak. 

There was an earthquake that night, shaking the cabins, making the hills roll, the trees shiver, as he screamed into his pillow. 

When asked about it in the morning, he didn't respond.

***

"Nico?" 

_Knock knock knock._

"C'mon, man, open up." 

Nico wanted to laugh. He wanted to laugh until his lungs burst and he suffocated. Because he couldn't cry, he wouldn’t cry, not anymore, and laughter was the next best thing. "Go away, Jason," he responded instead. 

"Nico? Nico, you need to… let me in. Please?" Nico sighed deeply, shoving his face into the crook of his elbow. That was Hazel, and she sounded devastated, and unlike Jason or Frank or, surprisingly, Leo, he couldn't ignore her. 

Nico stood, slowly, and stumbled his way towards his cabin door. His legs ached with disuse, joints popping in his knees and fingers cracking as he wrapped his hand around the door knob. 

He blinked as the bright sunlight poured into his room, forcing the dark haze that Nico's head had settled into away. 

He hasn't been outside in a week.

He hasn’t been outside since the funeral. 

"Oh, Nico!" Hazel cried as she wrapped herself around her brother. Nico hugged back twice as hard. "C'mon, sweetie. Let's take care of you." 

Hazel stayed behind to _'Clean up this cabin, it's been days... oh, it's so dark in here!'_ as Jason forced Nico to the communal showers. 

"After this I'm taking you to breakfast," Jason said, authority from his days as Praetor seeping into his voice. Nico just hummed. "Frank'll be bringing by a new pair of clothes," Jason added. Nico didn't respond, he instead stepped into the bathrooms and peeled off the clothes he was wearing, tucking them away before walking towards the nearest shower stall. As soon as he shut the curtain he slumped backwards, back hitting the frigid stall wall, cold water cascading around him. His eyes drooped; he was so tired. 

Look; it wasn't supposed to happen like this. 

Nico wasn't supposed to let himself get this bad, forcing his friends to dote over him while they were still dealing with grief too. He was supposed to be strong; he knows how the underworld works, how death works, and he was supposed to take comfort in that. 

And he tried to, really. But then he saw Sally Jackson sobbing over her son's empty casket and he just couldn't hide anymore. Couldn’t hide behind his knowledge; hide behind his calm façade. 

Hide behind his cowardice, his fear that blocked everyone out and made him ache to run. 

And so, he broke promptly after the funeral, crying for the first time since Bianca (though only for a few minutes; he would not waste any more time then needed on doing something so unhelpful), and then laid in his bed for a week, staring into the black nothingness that sat, thick and heavy and suffocating in his cabin. He thought about nothing and everything, questions and answers at the same time; would he get into Elysium (yes, of course he would), where would Nico go when he died (probably The Fields of Mourning; it would make sense), how horrific was his death (Jason wouldn’t say, the new camper didn’t talk). 

The sad thing is is that he knows he’s dragging his friends down with him, but he just can’t figure out how to get better. 

Nico half-heartedly scrubbed at his hair, the all-in-one bar of soap left for use making his hair feel gritty and stale and leaving his skin dry and smelling like chemicals. The water didn't warm up at all, though that was expected as he was the last camper to get to the showers, and it was only once he turned the faucet off did he realize that he didn't bring a towel. He cleared his throat. "Jason—" 

"Hanging by the curtain," Jason cut in from somewhere outside the bathroom. Low and behold, a fluffy white towel was hanging just outside his stall, and a fresh outfit sat in place of his old clothes. He even found deodorant and a toothbrush sat delicately down next to his clothing. 

He left the showers looking cleaner, but not feeling any better. His head hurt, badly, and his eyes just couldn't adjust to the light correctly, leaving everything in a fuzzy haze, and he physically, and mentally, felt like he'd been run over by a bulldozer multiple times. Jason didn’t care about any of this, however, and he made this clear by dragging Nico to the dining pavilion. 

The pavilion was full of people, though the uneasy quiet that had stuck around since his death still hadn’t completely ebbed away. Jason sat Nico down at the Zeus cabin’s table, leaving him there with a gentle expression, a silent plea. Nico didn’t plan on leaving. 

Jason returned after offering some food to the gods, setting a plate full of fruit and some hash browns in front of Nico. He sat opposite of Nico, his own plate in front of him, oddly silent. Nico picked at his food. “I know it’s hard,” Jason said finally. “It’s hard for everyone, but I know… it’s hit you…” and Nico scowled, because it wasn’t supposed to hit him harder than the others. He was supposed to have a calming indifference towards him, and he was supposed to be sad for a few days and then help others move on. 

“Can we just… not…” he started, but Jason cut him off. 

“You need to talk about this. About him. You can’t just… ignore… it’s not…” Nico took a bite of strawberry and stood. 

“I’m going for a walk,” he said, leaving Jason and the rest of the campers behind. Chiron frowned from where he was seated by the sacrificial fire. 

He spotted Annabeth sitting on the shore of Long Island Sound, Piper sitting quietly next to her, a comforting arm wrapped around her shoulders as Annabeth silently wiped tears off her face. Nico desperately wanted to join them; sit by the stormy waters (they hadn’t been calm since… Poseidon was clearly unhappy with this turn of events) and breathe in the scent of sea salt and clean mist. He wanted to lay in the sand and let the waves wash over him and he wanted to try and convince his body to _feel_ , feel _something_ , _anything_. 

But it wasn’t his right; wasn’t his place. Nico wasn’t as close to him as the others were; he wasn’t dating him, and they were more acquaintances rather than friends, and Nico had no right to feel so wrecked over what happened to him. He should be the least affected. 

Yet, here he is. 

Nico looked away from the girls, heading towards the woods in hope of escaping reality for a little while longer. Maybe he could forget that any of this happened. Maybe he could pretend like everything was the way it was before. 

***

Nico wandered until dinner. He didn’t know how long he’d been in the woods, sitting and staring up into the tree branches that shaded him from the sky until he heard a distant conch horn and noticed how low the sun had dipped in the sky. He stood in a haste, stumbling a bit before making his way towards the dining pavilion for the second time that day. Hazel was going to be so worried. 

He streamed into the pavilion along with the rest of the crowd, grabbing some food and giving up half of it for his father. Hazel was sat at the Hades table, nibbling on a roll anxiously. She smiled softly when she saw him. “Nico. How was your day?” He shrugged in response, taking a seat next to her and staring down at the plate in front of him. “Jason said you’d gone off this morning. I told him not to bring it up, but…” she shrugged this time, placing the rest of her roll down on her plate. It was barely touched. 

“Hazel, you need to eat,” he reminded her. 

“So do you,” she replied back. Nico frowned. He ate a piece of his own roll, then a slice of chicken. Hazel responded by doing the same. They were silent for a while more. “I’m worried, Nico,” she said at last. 

Nico looked at her. She seemed paler then normal, even in the warm glow of the firelight. She seemed slightly skinnier than before, which Nico frowned harder at. He touched her arm. “Are you okay?” he asked. She hummed lowly. 

“I will be.” She glanced around at the rest of the campers. “I miss him a lot. And I feel so bad… Annabeth… she’s barely left the beach since… and, well, you know. I’m worried about the others.” She glanced at him. “You.” 

“I’ll be fine. I am fine. Just… takes some getting used to.” Now that he was looking, he could tell that Annabeth wasn’t at her table; neither was Piper or Jason. “You need to eat more, though. If you do, I will.” The thought of eating any more made him feel slightly ill, but he wanted Hazel healthy, and if that was the way to do it then so be it. Hazel smiled at him, a small, sad thing, and picked up her fork to dig into the vegetables on her plate. Nico followed suit. 

“I will be sleeping in the Big House again tonight,” she said quietly. That had happened when Nico had fallen away for a while; Hazel didn’t want to bother him so she asked Chiron if she could stay in the Big House rather than the Hades cabin. Just until Nico felt well enough to let someone else in, she’d promised. Nico was grateful, though he wondered if he should be left alone at this point. It was what he wanted, but want and need are two different things. “Frank and I’ll be heading back to Camp Jupiter sometime next week,” she said again. Nico merely nodded. They finished dinner in silence. 

***

He didn’t get much sleep that night. 

He’s been plagued with nightmares since his birth, because life for demigods can never just be easy. And then Bianca, and the wars, and Tartarus, and his kidnapping, and now his death had happened, and it seemed that Nico’s body only truly rested after forcing itself to sleep from sheer exhaustion. And even then, his sleep was fitful at best. So it was a regular occurrence for him to wake up hazy and dizzy, bones aching and head feeling like there was a tight band resting around it and over his eyes. 

Light filtered in through the blinds, which Hazel had opened when she cleaned. His cabin was spotless, clothes tucked away, bedding crisp, and it smelled faintly of the strawberry scented fresh air that permeated the camp as well as a chemical lemon scent. Nico wasn’t used to waking up to light in his cabin, so it took a moment longer than it should have for his eyes to adjust. 

Nico rubbed at his face, scrubbing his hands up and down it a few times before he raised himself onto his elbows. He looked down to the foot of his bed and blinked. Then blinked again. 

And then he screamed. 

***


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second chapter people!! hope you enjoy :)

“Of all ghosts the ghosts of our old loves are the worst.” 

-Conan Doyle

***

Nico caught himself before he could call attention to his cabin, his hand slapping in front of his mouth to stop his scream, eyes wide. 

Percy Jackson has been dead for three weeks. 

So what the hell is he doing at the end of Nico's bed?

“What the fuck?” Percy— or whatever it was that looked like Percy— yelped. Nico started hyperventilating. 

“What the fuck is right! What the hell— you’re… you… you died! You’re dead!” Nico struggled to get his breathing under control. 

“Hey—“ Percy/Not Percy reached out towards him, and Nico flinched back, curling into himself. 

“Okay. This is fine. I can deal with this. This is a dream. Just… wake up. How do I wake up?” Nico’s hands scrambled for something to hold, to cling to, with the hope that it would ground himself. He scratched at his arms and winced as his nails dug too deep. “Ow, fuck, okay, not a dream. That makes this so much worse.” 

“Okay, wait. Dude. Calm down. Breathe. Breathe with me. Watch—“ Percy demonstrated for the younger, taking deep breaths continuously until Nico followed suit. “See? That wasn’t so hard.” Nico just huffed, closing his eyes tightly. 

“You died.” 

“Yeah. I know,” Percy responded. He didn’t sound sad, he sounded resigned and eerily calm, especially considering the weird situation the two boys found themselves in. 

“But.. but you’re here. In front of me. Gods, what the fuck.” Nico opened his eyes slightly to see Percy staring at the wall opposite of him, expression stoic. 

“I know,” he repeated. 

“What… how… what are you doing here?” Nico asked. He had to give himself some credit; he was handling whatever the hell was going on rather well if he did say so himself. 

Percy glanced at him, staring at him a second to long before smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his neck. “I was hoping you could tell me that?” Nico just stared at him. Percy opened his mouth to respond, but a loud crash cut him off. His cabin door banged open. 

“I heard screaming!” Jason said. He was huffing, as if he’d ran a mile to get to Nico’s cabin, and he had a sword out in front of him protectively. 

“Um,” was all Nico could say. Jason calmed down, noticing that Nico wasn’t in immediate danger. He sheathed his sword and walked into the cabin. Percy snorted out a laugh. Nico ignored him. 

Jason didn’t seem to notice Percy, which meant that Nico was most likely the only one who could see him. Which meant that he was probably hallucinating, and had nothing to worry about. 

Well, except for the fact that he was hallucinating. 

Jason took a seat next to Nico, hand outstretched like he wanted to touch his elbow. He thought better of it, pulling his hand away. “Nightmare?” he asked. Nico absently nodded. 

“Yeah. You could say that.”

Jason hummed. “Wanna talk about it?” Nico shook his head ‘no.’ Jason just sighed. “Look,” he started, and Nico held back the eye roll he wanted so badly to do. This again? “I know that Percy’s death was sudden, and it hit you pretty hard, but you can’t let that stop you from your progress. You were getting better. You actually looked semi-healthy,” Jason said as he huffed out a laugh. His eyes were gentle and concerned. Nico wanted to fold into himself. He didn’t dare to look at Percy (who was hopefully just a you-didn’t-sleep-enough-again hallucination that had appeared just to remind Nico of how pathetic he was). “We all just want you better. We can’t lose you too.” 

That hit a little close to home. 

Nico brought his knees to his chest. “I know. I’m sorry. I tried. I’m trying.” He turned to look at Jason. “I’m trying,” he said sternly. Jason nodded, seemingly pleased with Nico’s answer. 

“You don’t have to hop back into everything straight away,” he said. “But at least try to get outside today.” He looked over Nico once. “And maybe get some more sleep. It’s not breakfast yet.” Jason stood and walked towards the door before turning once again. “Speaking of breakfast, you need to eat more,” he said, smiling slightly, before opening the door and walking out. Nico swore he heard him say “False alarm,” to someone before the door could fully close. He huffed out a breath and tucked his head into the dip between his knees. 

“My death hit you hard, huh?” Nico jumped at the voice. He’d almost forgotten that Percy (was it really Percy? That was to be determined) was there. 

“Well, did you expect me to not care about your… death?” He lifted his head up and stared at Percy with suspicion. 

“I don’t know. I guess I… I guess I’d thought you’d’ve moved on already.” 

“You and me both, buddy,” Nico sighed quietly. “Guess life doesn’t work that way, though.” Percy was frowning. “What?” 

“How are the others?” he asked, sparing a glance at Nico. Even in this misty, almost see-through form his sea green eyes sparkled. They reeled Nico in. If Nico could fall into those eyes and drown in their sea-green, he wouldn’t complain. Nico shrugged. 

“Everyone took it pretty hard… uh, the seven are really upset; I haven’t seen Grover since the funeral— though that may be my fault— and, well… the ocean has been having a riot since you’ve been gone.” Nico tried to laugh, but it came out creaky; rusted with disuse. He winced instead. “And Annabeth…” he trailed off. Percy’s face scrunched softly. He didn’t continue, and Percy didn’t pry. Instead, Percy hummed; and they were quiet for a while. “So,” Nico finally broke the silence. “What are you? Some kind of hallucination to help me cope? If that’s what this is it’s not helping in any way.” 

“No… I’m— I’m real. I’m me.” 

“Oh,” Nico said. “So you’re what- a ghost?” Percy just nodded slowly. 

“I guess so. You’d know more about this stuff than me, though.” Nico did know a thing or two about ghosts; it’s just… the only ghosts he could really see were ones he summoned, the ones at Camp Jupiter, or the ones in the Underworld (of course). Ghosts didn’t usually allow themselves to be seen when they were stuck up top, so this was kind of a first for him. 

“Okay. Well then. You just… came here to haunt me? Why not the others? Why not—“ the conch horn cut him off. Percy stared at him.

“Go get breakfast,” he decided. “I’ll answer more questions… well, the ones I can answer, then.” He smirked at Nico. “I’d suggest that you get dressed, first,” he said before promptly disappearing into thin air, leaving the scent of petrichor and sea-salt in his wake. 

Nico realized that he had just sat in front of his dead c̶r̶u̶s̶h̶ friend in nothing but boxers; as well as Jason, but Jason wasn’t  _ Percy  _ so it didn’t matter as much. Nico’s head hit his headboard as he slouched back, a resounding  _ thwack  _ sounding through the now silent cabin. “Fuck,” was all he could think to say. 

***

Percy reappeared as Nico finished his breakfast. “You need to eat more,” he said to announce his presence. Nico jumped. 

“Nico, what’s wrong?” Hazel asked, concerned. Nico glanced at Percy. 

“Nothing. Just thought I heard something.” He stood, moving towards the entrance of the dining pavilion. “I’ll see you later, Hazel.” Percy was walking, well, floating beside him. 

“Wait!” Hazel called. “I’ll see you later, at lunch, right?” Nico nodded and continued on his way. 

“You were looking healthier before,” Percy decided, after a few moments of walking in silence. 

“What?” 

“I’m just…” he looked at Nico, and he was frowning. “I don’t want you to… because of me.” Nico felt nauseous. 

“We should figure out why you’re here,” Nico said. Percy nodded in agreement. “I specifically want to know why you were in my room.” Percy had the decency to blush. 

“Well… okay, it started about a week ago, I guess. I  _ was  _ dea- I was in the underworld,” he corrected, “I swear. And then suddenly I was in New York? I thought that maybe I was… I dunno, dreaming? Dead people dream, right?” Percy looked at Nico and Nico just winced and shrugged. He had to remember. Percy is dead. No one else can see him, he’s a ghost, and he’s  _ dead _ . “Well, anyways, turns out I wasn’t. I thought about visiting my mom— but. It just… she couldn’t see me anyways. No one could. And it… well.” They fell silent for a while. Nico realized Percy was leading him towards the beach, which probably wasn’t the best place to go based on Annabeth constantly being there, and Percy’s seeming reluctance on the topic of Annabeth and all that. But he couldn’t bring himself to stop Percy. 

“And how did this cause you to end up in my room?” 

“Well… I figured, if there was anyone who could help me, it would be the Ghost King.” Percy was smiling wistfully at the sea when they made it to the beach. He let out a low whistle. “Wow. You weren’t lying when you said my dad was having a riot.” 

Grey clouds hung low over the water, blowing a mist up to the shore. The water itself was dark and harsh, hitting rocks and the shore alike with a power so raw it was almost painful. The air by the shore was cold and thick with a wet haze. Nico could feel his clothes sticking to his skin from the fog. He shivered and brought his arms up to his chest. “Yup. It’s been like this since—“ he cut himself off there. Percy just hummed knowingly. 

“And it wasn’t even a really heroic way to go, all things considered,” Percy said after a pause. Nico barked out a dry laugh. It left his throat feeling raw. 

“All things considered,” he agreed. The sound of waves crashing on the seashore made Nico’s eyes droop. He was so tired, but he felt like he’d never be able to rest again. 

Not until he was dead. And wasn’t that an ironic thought? 

Because Percy (Percy is  _ dead _ , he’s a  _ ghost _ , Nico has to remind himself, and doesn’t that just put a damper on this whole outing) should be getting that rest, is the person most deserving of that rest, and yet he is here. Forced to be here, with only Nico, who, in an attempt to cover his infatuation with the older, was never really nice to him, instead of being able to spend a little time with friends and family who can actually show their affections… “I’m sorry,” Nico says, and regrets it immediately. He  _ is  _ sorry, he knows that deep down, but  _ gods _ he doesn’t want Percy to  _ know  _ that lest he… lest he starts to assume something because of it. Percy just snorts, throwing his head back unabashedly. 

“The hell are you sorry for? I’m the one who made a stupid mistake and died when my friends needed me most.” And there was a confession in that, Nico can almost  _ feel  _ it, if only he could figure out what it was, exactly. 

“Sorry that you’re… stuck with me. Instead of…” Well, Nico could list a whole lot of other people that Percy would be better off with.

“Can it, bud. I’d  _ die _ to spend some time with you.” 

“Too soon,” Nico said. Percy laughed, and his laugh was so nice, and Nico hated himself. 

“C’mon, it was kinda funny,” Percy said, smiling. He must have noticed that Nico wasn’t joking, noticed that it  _ was  _ too soon, that everything was too soon, and too much, and— and Nico could already feel a headache coming on. “Nico. Nico, look at me.” 

Nico made the mistake of listening. 

“I’m here.” Percy gestured to himself. “At least, I’m here in  _ spirit _ — okay I’ll quit with that— and sure I died a little bit but who doesn’t, right?” Well, that’s true enough. “And I’m okay. I can see my friends again and I can talk to you and when we figure out how to fix…  _ this _ ,” he gestured to himself once more, “I can go back to my eternal happiness of whatever. And that’s more than enough.” 

“Sure,” Nico said, hand coming up to cover his eyes. The sounds of the water had gone from calming to all consuming, and Nico felt as though he was drowning. Maybe that would explain the rushing in his ears. 

“C’mon. Let’s get you back to your cabin. ‘With great responsibility comes the great need to take a nap’ and all that jazz, and you’ve had a lot of responsibility pushed on you whether you’ve realized it or not.” Nico didn’t even notice that he’d started walking away from the beach, that Percy was hovering closer than before. He didn’t even register what Percy had said until they were almost at his cabin. 

“Did you just… quote me? Incorrectly?” he asked, and earned a few concerned looks from a group of campers near by for his troubles. Percy made a face. 

“Yes— I guess so. Because it’s true, and gods, do we all need naps,” Percy said. “And I like my version better.” Suddenly Nico was in his cabin. When had  _ that  _ happened? “All right, in you go.” Nico was in his bed in an instant, sighing at the comfort it brought him. The blinds were still open, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. 

He was so, so tired. 

Percy was sitting on the bed across from his, the one Hazel used when she slept in the cabin. “Go to sleep, Nico,” Percy said, and almost immediately Nico’s eyes slipped shut. It was almost embarrassing how eagerly Nico followed Percy, even after all these years. 

No nightmares followed him to sleep. 

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW:
> 
> •vague mention of self harm. if I didn’t put this warning y’all probably wouldn’t have noticed it but just in case!! 
> 
> it’s finally here! sorry for taking so long to get this out, it took longer than I expected to write lmao. imma get the next chapter out as soon as I can and then (hopefully) I’ll get back to the schedule. this chapter is honestly the longest one and it doesn’t even contribute much to the plot. anyways, hope you all enjoy and sorry for the wait! 
> 
> also this chapter hasn’t been edited yet lmao sorry for any mistakes!!

“Meet me where the sky touches the sea. Wait for me where the world begins.”

-Jennifer Donnelly

***

When Nico woke up it was dark out. 

His legs were sore and his head hurt, badly; he winced as he opened his eyes. The sky was lightening ever so slightly, causing a soft, hazy blue to roll in through the open blinds, creating slits of light on the cabin floor. He groaned as he sat up. “What time is it?” he wondered aloud. 

“4:45 A.M,” Percy replied, appearing next to Nico’s bed from thin air. 

“Dear gods!” Nico cried, his stygian iron blade in hand before he could think better of it. “You’ve gotta stop doing that!”

Percy held up his hands in mock-surrender. “Hey, c’mon man, we can be civil about this! Put the sword down!” Nico did as he was asked, hands shaking with adrenaline and fear and, well, general ‘fuck-I-forgot-that-my-friend’s-ghost-is-haunting-me’ shock. 

Nico scrubbed at his eyes, sighing gently as he leaned back into the comfort of his pillows. He breathed in and out slowly, trying to calm himself. His body felt heavy and weighed down.

_ Serves me right _ , he thought. 

“Why am I up so early?” 

“You went to bed at like, 9 o’clock in the morning. You’ve gotten like… twenty hours of sleep, dude.” Nico sat up fully at that. He felt like he’d been sitting in ice water for hours: cold and sluggish and kind of sick from adrenaline. He thought back to the last thing he’d remembered and went from there. 

Getting into bed,

Walking to his cabin,

The beach,

The dining pavilion,

Breakfast… 

Shit. 

“Ah, fuck. I was supposed to meet Hazel for lunch, she’s probably—“

“She came by when you didn’t show,” Percy cut in calmly. “I didn’t talk to her, obviously, but— wait. D’ya think Hazel can see and or speak to me? Like you? Eh, that’s a question for another time I guess…” Nico stared at Percy, gesturing for him to continue. “Oh, right. Where was I? Uhh… oh! She came in here and saw you all snuggled in and, to be honest,” and then Percy mumbled something that Nico couldn’t hear, “well… whatever, I’m sure she’d agree with me even if you don’t,” and maybe Nico wasn’t supposed to hear that either. 

“Percy, please get to the point. It’s early and I just woke up and my brain physically can not handle rambling right now.” As if to prove his point, Nico’s head throbbed, his vision dipping dangerously low. He blinked the spots away. 

“Oh, right! She came in, saw you asleep, and then left. She was smiling all sweetly.” He paused. “Gods, I miss her.” Percy sat down on the bed, by Nico’s knees. “I miss all of them,” he said, a sad smile on his face. Nico frowned. He wanted to reach out and touch Percy— something he has wanted to do many times and never let himself— wanted to comfort him with a hand on his arm, his shoulder, anything. He found himself reaching out before jerking back almost instinctively. Then he remembered. 

_ Oh, Percy is a ghost,  _ and,  _ oh, that means I can’t touch him even if I wanted to.  _

Which yeah, he’s never really touched Percy before, except maybe when he was ten and naive, because they were never really all buddy-buddy like that, but he always had the chance. The choice. Now that was taken from him.  _ He _ was taken from him, should be gone for good, but for some reason he’s here and Nico can see him and  _ what the fuck even _ ?? Nico wants to slump back into his pillows and fall asleep for forever. Instead he leans against the wall behind his back. “How do you know what time it is, anyway?” 

“The placement of the sun.” Nico almost hummed appreciatively, but then— “Also the Big House has a clock and I can kinda go anywhere I want.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, that makes more sense.” 

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!” Percy cried. 

Nico did what he has always done best: pretended to ignore him. 

Nico could never really ignore Percy, not when he was ten and scared and sad and alone, not when he was eleven and full of anger and the need for revenge, not when he was twelve and would do whatever it took to keep Percy safe and alive. Though, that kinda backfired… Percy was like a beacon, a bright, fiery star that gathered everyone’s attention. Something that you couldn’t look away from; something that was always there, always grounding. Something you could count on, and Nico couldn’t ever truly save himself from Percy’s light. Nico has been blinded by it from the start. 

Some things never change. 

Nico let out a big yawn, stretching his arms above his head. “Hazel did a good job cleaning,” he said. “I should thank her somehow.” Percy snorted. 

“You can’t ignore all your problems, Nico.” 

“It’s been working out pretty well so far,” Nico responded, rubbing at his eyes. 

“If you say so,” Percy said, hands up as if asking for mercy. Nico grumbled lowly, looking out the window of his cabin. 

“What am I supposed to do now?” he asked, not really expecting an answer. 

Percy answered anyway. “Um… go back to sleep? Sit here and think about the meaning of life? Go for like… a run or something? I don’t know.” Nico closed his eyes and leaned back against his headboard. He could always use more sleep, but after twenty hours of it he kind of didn’t want to sleep ever again. He’d sat here and thought about the meaning of life for the past week, so that was a no-go. And who actively decided to run,  _ for fun _ ? No, thanks. What Nico needed right now was… a shower. A shower with actual hot water and not the ice that comes out of the tap after every other camper in Camp Half-Blood uses it. 

Nico nodded to himself before opening his eyes. He stood up, wobbled slightly, blinked back the fuzzy haze that seeped into his vision, stretched, then stood in the middle of his room. He really didn’t want to walk to the communal bathrooms. It seemed so far, and… actually, showering seems hard. It was hard to even stand, if the way his legs were trembling was any indicator. “Where are you going?” Percy asked. 

“Shower,” Nico said, frowning. And then he remembered. Oh, yeah. He could shadow travel. 

“Isn’t it against the rules to leave your cabin this early?” 

“Since when have you cared about rules?” Nico grumbled. He looked around the cabin. There were definitely enough shadows, but he hadn’t really used his powers intentionally in almost a month. The thought of it now… well, it didn’t scare him. Nico wasn’t scared of what he could do. But, things were different now and, besides, what if he was rusty? What if he ended up in, like, the canoe lake? Or Chiron’s bedroom? Or China? Or— 

“Tch,” Percy clicked his tongue, “well, you’re not wrong.” 

“Thanks,” Nico replies absentmindedly. He grabbed a new shirt from the drawer under his bed, and a towel that was hanging off the headboard of a different bed. “Okay. Let’s do this.” 

“What are you hyping yourself up for?” Nico didn’t answer. He closed his eyes, letting the shadows around him swallow him up. He had his destination in mind— right in front of the bathrooms— and let himself relax into the shadow’s hold. The darkness was cool and the air was thin and dry, yet Nico still felt immensely comforted. The shadow realm always felt like this, like he was being wrapped up in a freshly washed and dried blanket. It felt like home, even though he was also being tossed and turned and thrown from shadow to shadow, which tended to make him a little nauseous, especially so now when his head hurt and his body was betraying him. 

A different type of cold washed over Nico, and when he opened his eyes he was standing in the communal bathroom, the only light coming from the small, rectangular frosted glass windows that sat near the ceiling. He’d overshot his travel, but only by a few feet, and Nico was almost proud of himself for being able to do it. Almost. 

“I forgot you could do that,” Percy said from behind him. Nico barely held back a flinch. The shadows reached towards him again. 

“If you keep sneaking up on me I’m going to ignore you all the time,” Nico said, hanging up his shirt and towel on the same hook outside of a shower cubicle. 

“Yeesh. Harsh,” Percy grumbled. He hopped up and took a seat on one of the sinks. Nico turned to look at him. 

“Um,” he said eloquently. Percy raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Yes?” 

“I kinda… need to get, you know, naked? So can you not be here for that?” Nico felt kind of insane because even though he wasn’t talking to himself, to others it would look like he was. Percy’s eyes widened and he made an ‘o’ shape with his mouth. 

“Yeah, sure. I’ll be back,” he said, before disappearing into thin air. Nico huffed slightly, rubbing at his eyes again before pulling his clothes off. He left them pooled on the floor before stepping into the stall and putting the water on. Ice cold water hit him full force, waking him up slightly, but this time it slowly warmed until it was hot enough to rival the lava used to wash the dishes. He scrubbed his fingertips through his hair roughly. 

Nico went through the motions of his shower mechanically. The soap scent, although mellow, made his head swim. He should really invest in some shampoo and conditioner; maybe a non-chemical scented body wash, too. His skin and hair would thank him, that’s for sure. 

***

Nico’s skin was flushed pink by the time he turned the water off. His arm muscles were sore and he had a crick in his neck. Nico ignored this, however, and reached his arm out to grab his towel to dry himself off. Except by the time his towel was in hand he was mostly dry— which was odd. Nico blinked a few times before bringing the towel to his damp (not soaking wet— what did that mean?) hair, ruffling it slightly in a poor attempt to dry it all the way. He wrapped the towel around his waist and pulled back the shower curtain, grabbing his fresh shirt off the hook and pulling it over his head before he pulled back on the rest of his clothes. Once he was clothed he started to shadow travel back to his room, assuming Percy would show up whenever he wanted as per usual, before he paused in front of the mirror. 

He was pale. Paler than he’d been in months; his skin almost silver in the warm early morning light. His eyes were slightly red, and he had deep blue eye bags from many sleepless nights in a row. His hair was messy from the rough treatment it was getting, the strands frizzy and puffy and half dry. His skin seemed suctioned onto his bones, hugging the sharp edges tightly. Nico winced at the realization. He wasn’t that pretty. He was too thin and sharp and harsh. He wasn’t soft enough to be pretty, Nico decided. If he lifted his shirt he’d be able to see the scars littered there, scars from monsters, real and imagined, imprinted on his limbs and chest, and he’d be able to count his ribs and feel the poke of his vertebrae on his back. 

If he peeled off his pants again, his jutted-out hip bones would be visible, his thin thighs and wobbly knees. Nico turned away from the mirror before he could think more about that. No. Not pretty. He stepped into the shadows and was greeted by the cold warmth, and the imagined scent of cinnamon and rotting leaves he associated with home. 

***

Percy was decidedly not in the Hades Cabin when Nico appeared there; Nico wasn’t concerned. He had a pretty good idea where he was. Nico dumped his used items onto the cabin’s floor, promising himself that he’d pick it up as to not disrupt Hazel’s hard work, before he made his way to the beach. He decided to walk there this time; he’d barely started to use his powers again and two trips, no matter how short, had made his already aching body sway. 

It was beginning to warm up outside, but Nico still wished he’d tugged on his aviator jacket before he’d left. He knew the beach would be cooler than normal. The walk there was quiet, almost silent if not for the chirping birds and slight rustle of wind in the trees surrounding camp, as well as the quiet, almost unnoticeable grumbles of creatures in the forests. The sun shifted through clouds, creating slants of light that hit the ground pleasingly. Nico shoved his hands into his pants pockets as he neared the beach. 

Percy’s outline became visible through the mist as Nico got closer. He was standing near the edge of the water, the waves around him calmer than the ones further out. Nico couldn’t see his face, but he could practically feel the peaceful reverie that oozed out of him. And, oh.

Nico had missed that. 

He’d missed this scene; Percy in his natural element, calm and relaxed, without the weight of the world on his shoulders. Nico missed it even though he’s sure he hasn’t ever seen that on the other boy before. 

Nico’s steps faltered for a second. He shook his head, embarrassed, as he tried to blink the tears that had somehow formed out of his eyes. He had no right to cry over this; especially not when the person he missed so dearly was literally right in front of him. Nico pushed on, shivering as the mist prickled his skin. “Hey,” Nico said once he was close enough. 

Percy didn’t startle, and didn’t turn around to face Nico. He kept staring out at the water, expression solemn. “Hey,” he replied back. Nico stood beside him, facing the water as well. “It’s cold. You should’ve brought a jacket.” 

Nico made a face. “How do you know it’s cold?” 

Percy glances at him from the corner of his eye. “I can feel it?” 

“Oh,” Nico said. “You can feel it?” 

“Yeah,” Percy said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “It doesn’t bother me like it would before, but I can still tell that it isn’t exactly warm out.” 

“Well, it’s warmer back there, a… away from the water,” Nico said quietly. Percy was smiling softly and it made Nico’s stomach swoop in the worst way. Hopefully Percy didn’t notice Nico stepping backwards by an inch. Percy shook his head. 

“Still,” he said, and the two of them settled into a silence. It wasn’t  _ uncomfortable, _ per say, but Nico was starting to think that maybe seeking Percy our wasn’t what he should’ve done. But it wasn’t like he had anything else to do until breakfast, not to mention he kind of had to deal with Percy being with him almost 24/7 until they figured out why, exactly, he was here.

“I don’t actually know much about ghosts. Despite my self-given title,” Nico said. He could practically feel Percy staring at him, but when he glanced over Percy was facing forward still, looking as nonchalant as ever. 

“I don’t know shit about this either,” Percy clarified, a slight grimace on his face. “But I’ll tell you what you’d like to know? I guess?” 

Nico hummed. “What happens when you just… disappear?” 

“Oh! That’s so cool, right?” Percy said, smiling widely. “I haven’t— didn’t— shadow travel with you too much way back when, but I think it kinda works like that? Except I can do it anywhere!” 

“Oh?” Nico said. “So, you just, like, think of a place and bam! You're there?” 

“Yeah, kinda. But there’s this like… in-between place. It’s all, like, white and smoky, and you’re there for like a millisecond and then you’re wherever you imagined.” 

Nico frowned. He brought a hand up to his face and tapped at his chin gently. “Doesn’t sound shadow traveling,” he said quietly. But, he couldn’t lie, he was kind of excited by the concept of some type of ghost shadow-but-not-really-traveling. 

“Nah. When you shadow travel it's like, dark, right?” 

Nico snorted. “Yeah, it’s pretty dark. Well, what else can you do? Can you touch anything?” Nico hoped that Percy couldn’t hear the hopeful tone in his voice. It’s not like he wanted to touch Percy. Of course not. That’s kind of weird. 

But. 

Well, he was the son of Hades. It’s possible that he could already… but, he wasn’t going to test that. Not on Percy. Who could, like, react badly. Why would he react badly, though? 

Why is Nico thinking about this at all? 

“I don’t know. I can touch, like, objects. Like a wall, or a bed, or the floor, you know? But people just walk through me.” Percy shivered. “It’s kind of weird when they do that.” 

“I’m sure it’s weird for every party involved,” Nico said, but he was still frowning. “So you can only touch things that aren’t alive, then?” 

“Er…” Percy closed his eyes. “Yeah, actually. Sounds about right.” Nico nodded slowly. 

“Okay, so. Weird shadow travel thing, can’t touch anything that’s alive, anything else I should be aware of?” 

“I can still control water.” Nico turned to look at Percy sharply. 

“Huh?” he said. 

“Is that… is that not normal?” Percy was rubbing his arm self consciously. 

“I… um…” Nico has met many ghosts. Most of them had forgotten themselves completely. Sometimes he visited ones who did remember, at least somewhat, in Elysium. But he doesn’t think that they had their powers. At least they didn’t flaunt them, if they did. And the ghosts at Camp Jupiter didn’t really do much except gossip (which Nico could honestly care less about). And the few he’s seen hanging around uptop were mostly mortals with ‘unfinished business,’ so…

Oh. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen any ghosts who kept their powers before, but I think I know why you still have them.” 

“Go on…?” 

“Okay, well, you’re here for unfinished business that you have uptop or whatever, and that unfinished business must be something you have to solve with your abilities.” 

“Okay… that’s, yeah. That makes sense. Sure,” Percy nodded. 

“So, we just need to figure out what your powers would be of use for.” Percy’s eyes widened, and then he groaned. 

“You don’t think that the gods have something to do with this, do you?” Nico winced. 

“Knowing our lives…” 

Percy groaned again. “For fucks sake! Can’t you just let me live my life in peace!” he paused. “Or… or let me be dead in peace, I guess?!” he yelled up to the sky. There was no response. Nico shivered. 

“I could be wrong,” Nico said, but he wouldn’t count his blessings. Even if he did, there would be less than the amount of fingers he had on one hand.

“You’re probably not wrong,” Percy grumbled, crossing his arms across his chest childishly. Nico smiled softly. 

It was probably then when he realized how dangerous this was for him (he’d known before, he’d known since he was twelve and had been able to fully understand what his feelings meant. He’d known since he’d curled up in bed late at night, choking back the flurries of emotion that had crawled up from his chest to suffocate him. He’d known since he screamed into his pillow, the world rolling dangerously beneath him, around him, the night he was told that Percy was dead). When he realized that maybe this wasn’t going to help him in the long run. Because Percy will have to leave again, and Nico would have to deal with that. With the aftermath of his own, personalized destruction. Nico will have to stand in the ruins of his person and learn how to deal with  _ him  _ being gone  _ again _ , and this time it will be worse because here he is, actively seeking him out, letting him comfort himself, letting him see himself when no one else was allowed. 

And he didn’t care. 

That was probably the most dangerous realization yet. 

“Yeah, well—“ he started, but he was abruptly cut off. 

“Nico!” Nico glanced at Percy, who seemed to be as taken aback from the intrusion as Nico himself was, before turning around towards the voice. It was Piper. 

Nico doesn’t know Piper well; he’s honestly barely spoken to her and knew next to nothing about her other than the basics: her mom was Aphrodite (which meant that Eros and or Cupid was her brother which made Nico sway and almost vomit if he thought about it to much), she was dating Jason, and she was very pretty. He knows that there are other aspects to her; he just isn’t quite sure what they are. However, the way she was smiling softly at him as she ran towards him eagerly could give anyone the impression that they’d known each other their entire lives. 

She was waving slightly as she slowed to a stop in front of him. She reached out to touch his shoulder; he flinched back involuntarily, promptly feeling like the worst person ever for it, but she took this reaction in stride and let her hand drop gracefully. She acted like she hadn’t even noticed his uncomfort, smiling a fraction of an inch wider. “Hey! Jason was looking for you— you weren’t in your cabin, and he’s obviously worried himself sick, even though I told him you’d be fine— and you should probably know that he’s got, like, a group of people looking for you, by the way.

“Anyways I saw you while I was heading out here and. Um. Well, I just, uh, thought you should know. And, maybe you should go and find him and try to, like, get him to  _ not  _ act like an overprotective mother? I swear to the gods I tried, because I know that you don’t really like to be babied, but uh… he just hasn’t gotten it yet.” 

Nico nodded dumbly. That was a lot of words. So many. More than he’s heard in the past twenty four hours. Piper waited patiently for his brain to catch up. Percy was frowning. “Oh. Um. Yeah. I’ll go… do that? Maybe.” He whispered the last part, and if she heard it she didn’t comment on it. Her eyebrows twitched downwards slightly, and her smile grew smaller and more genuine, and she slumped into herself slightly. She didn’t try to touch him again, thankfully. 

“Hey, I get it,” she said quietly, looking out over his shoulder at the raging waves. “I miss him too. A lot, even if I didn’t know him as well as you, or Annabeth, or his other closer friends.” She looked at Nico, and Nico could see the bags under her eyes; her slightly puffy cheeks. The tip of her nose was still red. And she still looked gorgeous. 

Damn those Aphrodite children. 

Percy had winced at Annabeth’s name, and maybe Nico should be more questioning over that, but at this point he didn’t know if he had it in him to care. He cared too much about everything, and for once he’d like to… not worry about it. He knows that won’t end up happening, but he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it. “Yeah,” he said quietly, hating the way his voice cracked in the middle. 

“Let’s go,” Percy said impatiently from beside him. Nico ignored him. Maybe he could learn how to talk to him telepathically at some point, if he stays around that long, (he's dead dead  _ dead  _ and he’ll leave again and won’t come back) but for now he’d just make due. 

“Well,” Piper said, coughing awkwardly before going back to her usual (unusual? Nico doesn’t know. He doesn’t know her) cheer. “I’d better get back to Annabeth, I have to… anyways! I hope that you and Jason can get this doting parentale figure schtick sorted out. It was nice talking to you.” She smiled widely before turning and continued on her way. She waved ‘ _bye_ ’ briskly over her shoulder before she could stop herself. Nico waved back. He looked at Percy, the boy’s eyebrows were set downwards and a frown was still etched on his face. 

“Well. Let’s get this sorted out, as she said,” Percy mumbled before walking ahead of Nico. Nico rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the way his muscles tensed before following behind him. 

***

Jason wasn’t hard to spot. 

“Found him,” Percy said boredly, flicking his wrist in Jason’s general direction. There were people around, but— 

“What’s up with you?” Nico hissed under his breath. 

“Huh?” Percy asked. He glanced at Nico curiously before smiling slightly. “Oh, nothing.” Nico glared at him before turning his attention back to the problem at hand. 

“Jason. What the fuck.” Jason turned towards Nico, blinking at the other owlishly for a few seconds before sighing and bringing a hand up to his forehead. 

“There you are!” the blond gritted out. “Where were you?” 

“The beach,” Nico answered simply. Jason’s face went all soft, just like he knew it would. 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah,” Nico said, feigning indifference. 

“Are.. are you okay?” Nico almost huffed out a laugh at the question, but managed to keep it under wraps and instead just rolled his eyes. 

“I will be once you call off the search party Piper said you had out for me.” Jason had the decency to blush. 

“It.. it wasn’t… it was just the seven,” he clarified. 

Nico huffed. “Why were you looking for me, anyways?” 

“I came to your cabin to get you but you weren’t there. I thought you’d… ran. Or something,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Nico looked to the floor. 

Well, that sounded like something he’d do. Can’t blame Jason for that. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Nico said quietly. Percy crossed his arms beside him. 

“I—“ Jason paused. “Yeah. Okay. Thank you.” The son of Jupiter smiled. “Now, let’s get breakfast!” 

***

Percy was acting weird. He’d been pouty and moody all day, as if he was a twelve year old, which. Well. Didn’t make much sense to Nico, because even when Percy was younger he didn’t act like this. 

Nico didn’t really know what caused this sudden shift in demeanor, but honestly he couldn’t find it in himself to worry too hard about it. 

The day had dragged on and on (not to mention Percy never left his side— which wasn’t particularly bad, but he wasn’t the best company today), and Nico honestly wanted to go to bed already. Jason had asked him to join him for all his camp activities. And Nico had said yes. Even after Jason had given him multiple outs, had taken time to ask if he needed to go mope (not Jason’s exact words), and tried to get them to take the occasional break, Nico had still gone with it. 

The campers weren’t exactly happy, but that was expected. They all talked less and seemed to be working on empty. Chiron has bags under his eyes when he supervised the Lava Wall, and Nico wondered how many deaths of heroes he’s trained he’s had to go through. 

Annabeth wasn’t there at all. 

Now it was dinner, and the dining pavilion was quiet too. The murmurs of campers having low conversations didn’t cover up the sounds of crickets and cicadas chirping like it usually did. It made Nico twitch nervously. Hazel was beside him like usual, chewing slowly. Nico didn’t eat much. 

“You said it was okay for me to sleep back in the cabin, right?” Hazel asked. She’d mentioned it at breakfast, let him mull it over until lunch before asking again, and ended up getting her answer at the beginning of dinner. Nico glanced over at Percy, who didn’t seem pressed at the idea of Hazel being in the cabin with them. Which, of course he wouldn’t be opposed to it, he and Hazel were close when he was alive. Nico was just worried that he would accidentally do something, like talk aloud to Percy or something, and that Hazel would label him as insane and send him to a psych ward. 

“Yeah,” Nico said. “Of course. It’s yours as much as it’s mine. I can’t keep you out of there forever.” Hazel smiled softly at him. 

“Okay.” She looked down at her food, then out at the sea of people sitting and eating before them. “I think that the sing along and campfire will be canceled today.” She glanced slyly at Chiron. “I feel like it’s been a bad day for him.” Percy winced and Nico nodded. 

“I wouldn’t have gone anyway. I’m tired.” 

“You slept for a long time yesterday. How can you still be tired?” Nico just shrugged. 

He’d been dragged around by Jason all day (and hence forced to communicate with people), not to mention he’d shadow traveled twice after ignoring the fact that he had powers for a month. His fatigue and mental exhaustion had caught up to him and hit him all once. 

“Actually, I think I’m going to go to bed now. Goodnight.” He stood and stumbled a little. Hazel caught his arm. 

“I’ll go with you. I’m tired too.” The two siblings made their way to their cabin in a semi awkward silence. Percy was floating upside down beside Nico. 

“This silence is killing me,” he said. Nico glared at him. “Right. That joke was made in bad taste. My bad.” 

“What’s wrong Nico?” 

Nico turned to look at Hazel. “Huh? Oh. Nothing. I was just thinking.” Hazel hummed. 

“So,” she said. Nico hummed questioningly. “Well. I don’t know. I just…” she stopped walking. Nico turned towards her. 

“Hazel? Are you okay?” 

She looked up and she was crying. 

“Oh. Oh! No you’re not! What’s wrong?” Hazel tried, and failed, to wipe away her tears. 

“I don’t know,” she sniffed. “I just— I miss him so much! And everyone’s acting like they’re okay and I just… how do they do it?” Nico’s eyes widened and he went up to Hazel, pulling her into a hug. 

“It’s okay. I… I miss him too,” Nico said softly. He cradled Hazel as she sobbed harder. Percy’s face went soft and sad as he placed a hand on the two siblings' shoulders. Hazel shivered. 

Nico thought he felt warmth. 

***

Sleep did not come easily that night. 

The two (plus Percy) had gone back to the cabin, Hazel wiping her eyes with her shirt and apologizing (“Honestly Hazel there’s nothing to be sorry for! Everything’s all right,”) and Nico trying to blink back the waves of dizziness that came over him. He practically crashed into bed when they got there, yet couldn’t fall asleep, not even when Hazel’s own breathing had leveled out into quiet snores. 

“Go to sleep, Nico,” Percy said gently. He was sitting on the floor, back resting on Nico’s bed. “It’s late and I know you’re tired.” Percy had been quiet since they’d gotten back, but not the harsh silence that followed then through the day. This one was soft, gentle, almost sad. 

“I know,” Nico whispered out harshly. “I can’t.” Percy hummed. 

“Why not?” 

“I… ugh! I don’t know!” Nico felt like crying. “It hurts,” he said quietly, voice broken even to his own ears. He didn’t know what hurt, exactly.

Everything? 

“It’s okay. Rest now. We’ll figure it out later.” Nico closed his eyes and he felt a chill erupt on his arm. 

“I—“ 

Percy shushed him. “What did I just say, death breath.” Nico could practically hear the smirk in his voice. “Go to bed. We’ll figure it out in the morning.” 

Something cool brushed his forehead as he finally fell into sleep. 

***

  
  
  
  



End file.
